There is no doubt that, as musical trends have changed over the years, Blues Rock and guitar-based music, in general, have taken a back seat in terms of overall commercial popularity, being replaced by Rap, RnB and a bunch of other newer, mainly Electronic, musical forms out there today. Still, this means that the talent of postmodern guitar-based music shines brighter in its own way, being much more competitive to get noticed. Gary Clark Jr. is a notable Bluesman of the 21st century, having gained a decent reputation for his vocals and guitar work. This is his first release, a short EP to showcase his musical journey through the Blues and into people’s ears. Let’s take a good listen to this EP, and hopefully, it will be a decent musical journey throughout.

Bright Lights begins with catchy, overdriven guitar and hi-hats. Instantly, one is hooked upon listening. Gary Clark Jr. plays some soaring leads which are fuzz-laden here. His singing is absolutely wonderful as well, sounding unique and daresay it, beautiful. A really catchy, lively and unique listen about being on the road and touring around, this cat definitely deserves your attention. A great, great song that sounds truly awesome, this is a fantastic and powerfully moving listen. There is a smooth guitar solo that rips well into your ears, followed by Gary Clark Jr. singing about drinking one’s woes away. Nonetheless, an absolutely well-delivered and excellently performed song that does demand repeat listens along the way. The guitar playing is very unique here, sounding Bluesy, Psychedelic and highly unique. A very great listening experience that certainly is worth your time, effort and listening skills. The tone and sounds coming from this tune are really unique. This is something that deserves more of a rotation on your Spotify playlist, or whatever method you have to listen to the music here. An extremely awesome and lively performance is here, and the outro sounds amazing. A great way to enjoy real Blues music for five minutes of your life. Effortlessly brilliant, and worth it totally. A great song with some interesting guitar sounds to fade out with.

Don’t Owe You A Thang begins with some upbeat and almost Bluesy-styled chicken picking playing, quickly launching into an upbeat tune with handclaps, romping percussion and some treated vocals. This is a great Blues tale about being broke and destitute. If you have ever been out of cash at some point in your life, then this is the tune to remind you exactly how bad it is, to be poor and broke. A ripping and thick-sounding guitar solo is here to drive this fantastic song along. Gary Clark Jr. succeeds in winning a wide audience to his unique craft here. A really powerful and tuneful piece of music, this has wide appeal lyrically and a great sense of quality over quantity musically. Really great music to hear, and hopefully something that will inspire all musicians to keep going, even if they are hungry, literally and metaphorically. A really sweet listen, and absolutely worth it. Blues for the soul.

Things Are Changin’ – Solo Acoustic; Live begins with some clear and clean arpeggio guitar work. Instantly, it sounds awesome yet moody. Gary Clark Jr. plays so beautifully and fluidly that it will take one by surprise. A really cool tune, our man sings very nicely on this song. A story about love matters, this is a deep yet enjoyable listen for those of you who are a fan of both Blues and Rock music. Nonetheless, this does sound really top-notch and excellent. Troubled emotions spill out from Gary Clark Jr. here in this performance, he is doing his best to deliver an honest statement throughout. Very smooth, clear and catchy music, this is definitely a great listen that deserves to be heard more by others out there. A beautiful, lovely and somewhat tragic listening experience, the minimalist musically here has great appeal, especially in a day and age where AI-based Pop songs are becoming increasingly trashy. A gorgeous tune, and something special to hear. The outro is really sweet sounding and slows down to conclude. Excellent.

When My Train Pulls In – Solo Acoustic; Live begins with more clean and excellently played guitar. This is an extended eight-minute long jam, so strap yourselves in. Gary Clark Jr. sings with heart and soul on this song and sounds really fantastic and thoroughly excellent on this song. He is a true shining star of blues-based guitar music. An excellent, top-notch and cool tune to hear, Gary Clark Jr’s playing is gorgeous, wonderful and unique in the Blues world. Although this is an extended musical jam, this is never dull or boring, not for a moment. Gary Clark Jr. will put a smile on your face for sure. A great, great tune, tinged with melancholy and regret. This sounds extraordinarily great, and the playing gets chugging and frenetic towards the middle in a solo section. Nonetheless, this does sound superb, sweet and fantastic simultaneously. Obviously evoking the spirit of Jimi Hendrix, Gary Clark Jr’s music will last the test of time. Soon enough near the middle of the song Gary Clark Jr. gets singing once again and plays some insane-sounding notes, and guitar harmonies and has a raw, Bluesy feel to his own music. A great, great listen. This cat deserves to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame already. A really excellent, lively and cool listen. The second half changes melody and structure somewhat to embrace the train ride (be it literal or metaphorical) in a song structure. A really awesome and amazing piece of music to listen to. Our main man’s playing is absolutely spot-on, flawless and wonderful. All in all, this does sound really dynamic and great. The fluidity musically and emotionally makes this sound mindblowing in its own way. Towards the end, it gets noisy but loveable throughout. A top instrumental to hear, period. It eventually wraps up nicely and the crowd deservedly applaud this legend. Nice.

Third Stone From The Sun / If You Love Me Like You Say – Live in Charlottesville, VA is an extended 12-minute plus jam. It begins with some applause, before launching into a great and overdriven-sounding rendition of a tune indebted to Jimi Hendrix himself, whom Gary Clark Jr. obviously takes on as an influence. It has numerous guitar riffs to begin with, sounding quite different and insane. A really different and upbeat-sounding piece of semi-psychedelic riffing, this is backed up by pounding drum rolls. Really cool and different. Soon enough, repeating riffs kickstart this tune and it rolls along nicely. A really decent, intelligent and enjoyable medley for the listener to indulge in. Brilliant, to be fair and honest. The music continues on for some time, and it sounds really great here, even without lyrics at this point. This is a very neat take on a Jimi Hendrix classic that needs to be heard by all guitar fans out there. Soon enough, funky guitar riffing enters and this tune sounds really excellent and superb musically. Gary Clark Jr. begins singing the second half of this track with some awesome and blues-based guitar progressions throughout. A really decent, loveable and enjoyable tune to hear, this is another winner from Gary Clark Jr. Soon enough, the song section stops and we launch into a dramatic and excellent solo, straight from the Blues itself. This isn’t even near the midsection of the song, and we are launched into inner/outer space already. The soloing continues on really nicely for some time and sounds really beautiful, bold and brilliant from start to finish. Singing shortly recommences and this extended jam maintains its awesomeness and interest. In the second half, this becomes a Drum and Bass styled piece with a bass guitar solo over choppy drum beats. Nonetheless, it is stunning and it works incredibly well. Soon enough, Gary Clark Jr. gets his wah-wah on, playing like an absolute madman throughout. This is highly unique listening in the history of music, and Gary Clark Jr. deserves to be heard. It launches back into the Jimi Hendrix jam section, which is super cool. Long live Gary Clark Jr. as he taps into the immortal spirit of James Marshall Hendrix here. All in all, pure absolute brilliance musically. The guitar soloing present is extremely cool to listen to. A forward-thinking and wonderful medley to listen to, this sounds absolutely phenomenally great. A decent and listenable piece, for sure. Towards the end, the jam section continues to startle and amaze oneself. Really awesome listening, the guitar work gets super fast and blurry sounding right towards the conclusion of this piece. A fine and wonderful listening experience. Worth hearing all the way. An excellent listen, it ends with a monstrous feedback-laden guitar section. It finishes up well with Gary Clark Jr. mentioning “going a little bit crazy on that one”. Excellence.

Bright Lights – Live in London, England begins with some crowd noise as Gary Clark Jr. and company get ready. Some loose riffing is played here, and it sounds beautiful and lovely. This is another 10-minute-plus long rendition that demands to be heard by many. The riffing builds up gradually and nicely throughout, along with crash cymbals. A really pretty and different listen, this is gorgeously extraordinary. Soon enough, drums kick in and we are underway on a very pretty and different musical journey. This is a great musical rendition of the main song from this EP, and Gary Clark Jr. gives it all he has got. A really different and fresh listening experience, this is definite proof that Gary Clark Jr. could cut it live as well. Forward thinking and anthemic music to listen to, this is really different and outstanding to hear. Searing guitar solos are also present throughout, and this tune is a wonderful, epic and magical listening experience. Super fantastic and loveable music, without a doubt. There is some interesting playing on the various instruments and chord progressions throughout. A real winner of a tune, this extended version of the original tune is a spaced-out and excellently improvised jam. In the midsection, the guitar playing gets crazily good, and Gary Clark Jr. is someone to be celebrated musically. To be fair, this is a little lengthy, but this is totally forgivable as our star is doing his best musically. The second half of this track has more decent musical progressions for us to hear, and many blistering guitar solos to hear. The jam here is really tripped out and quite spacey, in its very own way. The bass guitar and drums do their best to keep up, and the rhythm section sounds really amazing here as well. A totally loveable and enjoyable jam, even if it is a little long in running time. This should be easily seen as a new form of post-Blues Rock that is played from the soul. A really great listen, the guitar sounds towards the end are amazing. Neither relying simply on beauty like Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, nor excessive shred-based technicalities of metalheads, Gary Clark Jr. plays at the right tempo and pace. Wonderful to listen to from start to finish, it begins to wrap up nicely right at the end, slowing down and sounding sweet. The audience shows their approval, and this EP concludes nicely with Gary Clark Jr. thanking the crowd. Awesome.

This is an essential listening experience for those of you who love raw, emotional and Blues-based guitar music. Gary Clark Jr. sowed the seeds of success here for his entire musical career thereafter. He deserves to be heard, not just simply for his music’s sake, but as a man who can change other’s opinions on what is acceptable in a musical context within seconds of listening to his music. Should you listen to this EP? Absolutely, it is a fine effort overall.

A really great example of where 21st-century music should be heading.

9/10